Quite often, reviews of adventure games are filled with seemingly trite accolades. Beniot Sokal's Syberia deserves more than that for one reason: effort. So much effort has been put into this game, from the realistic game play to the melancholy score to the outstanding graphics, that you can't help but be impressed from the moment you start your adventure.
During the course of this game, you will be swept along from one mesmerizing location to another all in the hopes of finding the ever-elusive heir to a run-down toy factory. The story unfolds before you at a leisurely pace, but, for the most part, does an excellent job of captivating interest. On the other hand, don't play this game if you take prescribed anti-depression medication. The look and feel of this game combine seamlessly with the score to provide the user with a feeling of depression and loneliness. You will overdose on Paxil or Zoloft long before the effects of Syberia leave your system
Gameplay
It is worth mentioning that this game is more of a story than a video game. It unfolds in the form of an interactive storybook. (A throwback to the popular King's Quest series in the late 80s.) This style of game has, in the past, proven to leave users frustrated and drained as they fruitlessly scour previously viewed screens looking for clues they might have missed. Syberia counteracts that tendency by following real world logic and providing plenty of reaffirming clues.
The puzzles are also refreshingly realistic. For the most part, you interact with gears and levers in an attempt to get a pre-defined end result and move on in the story. Thankfully, this game avoids the surrealistic and out of the ordinary results that other puzzle games display. For example, at one point in the game, Kate (our heroine) needs money to move on. I can name other games where the same dilemma was presented and the end result was to shake a tree and watch a coin fall out or something else just as unbelievable. In real life you would probably ask someone for some help, which is just what Kate does to move on.
I don't want to leave you with the wrong impression. It's not like every puzzle ends with happy mountain-folk running around hoping they can brighten your day. Quite the contrary is true. In fact more often than not, you are alone and confused and, as if to add insult to injury, it looks as though it might start raining on you (again) at any minute.
Graphics
I'm not going to lie to you. while the graphics in Syberia are top notch, after some time their luster starts to dull. There are several screens that you do not interact with anything or anyone; you simply walk through them to get to the goal. The fact that some artist obviously took months to create it makes you feel guilty about just walking past it without pause.The guilt doesn't help when every screen makes you want to cry. It's amazing how the creators of this game can so perfectly recreate a cobblestone street after a rainstorm. But then again, when was the last time you looked at a street after a rainstorm and felt pleasantly content ?
Soundtrack
The original score in this game is by far, the most likely portion of this game to be underappreciated. Is it depressing? Absolutely. But it is also highly inventive and very engaging and just like everything else in this production shows how much time and effort was put forth creating it. Apart from the score, the sound effects themselves are competent, but not terribly original.
Miscellaneous
My biggest gripe with Syberia was the editing. All encounters with other people or robots (automatons) are displayed both through sound and text. (Subtitles) It would seem that, at no point, did anyone take a look at some of the finer points of editing. Note to developers: Questions end in question marks, not periods.
The voice acting was the only aspect that seemed out of place. No one even attempted an accent and it would seem that every line was recorded on the first take. The actors were lifeless and at times downright annoying with their ill-fitting cadence and emphasis.
Overall
All in all, Syberia shows what can be accomplished when all aspects of a game are pulling in the same direction. The amount of planning and energy spent on this game must have been exhausting, and it shows. Syberia strives to perfectly re-create a depressing journey through the silent and lonely French Alps and outer reaches of Russia. The end result is both gloomy and captivating and well worth playing if you're looking for a long term challenge.
System Specs
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
350Mhz Pentium II or equivalent
64 MB RAM
16MB DirectX Compatible Card
16X CD-ROM drive
Mouse
See more images in the Syberia media page
